[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fis-this-fight-really-necessary":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fis-this-fight-really-necessary-surround":73},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":15,"columnName":56,"date":57,"description":21,"extension":58,"image":59,"meta":60,"minRead":61,"navigation":62,"path":63,"postType":64,"publication":65,"publicationUrl":59,"seo":66,"stem":67,"topics":68,"__hash__":72},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fis-this-fight-really-necessary.md","Is This Fight Really Necessary?",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13,14],"Ephesians","Romans","1 Peter","1 Corinthians","Colossians","1 John",{"type":16,"value":17,"toc":52},"minimark",[18,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43,46,49],[19,20,21],"p",{},"On Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, a battle took place between Union and Confederate forces in West Point, Georgia, near the Alabama border. Early in the morning about 3,700 Union Cavalrymen opened fire on Fort Tyler, which was defended by Confederate General Robert C. Tyler and approximately 120 men.",[19,23,24],{},"Earlier in the war General Tyler had lost his left leg in battle. Now on crutches, he continued to fight courageously for the Confederate cause. When he stepped outside the fort for a closer look at the Union troop formations he was shot and killed, as was his second in command, Captain C. Gonzales. Altogether, 25 men died and 29 more were wounded in the Battle of Fort Tyler before the Confederate troops ran out of ammunition and surrendered as evening fell.",[19,26,27],{},"Ironically, the whole battle was unnecessary because the War Between the States was already officially over. A full week earlier on April 9, Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Abraham Lincoln had been shot on Good Friday, April 14, and died on the morning of April 15. By Easter Sunday the war was over, but news traveled slowly in those days. Word hadn't spread to Fort Tyler yet, so the battle went on. The men who fought and died there didn't realize the war's outcome already had been decided.",[19,29,30],{},"The Ongoing Battle",[19,32,33],{},"Similar events have happened in the aftermath of other wars. Perhaps you have heard tales about soldiers on South Pacific islands who came out of hiding years after the end of World War II, thinking the war was still on. This year, long after allied troops drove Saddam Hussein out of Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers loyal to Saddam continue to stir up violence in the streets.",[19,35,36],{},"The Bible presents an interesting paradox. In the ultimate spiritual war, God's victory is assured, but not everyone has gotten the word. Through his death and resurrection Christ has \"disarmed the powers and authorities\" and \"made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross\" (Colossians 2:15). \"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work\" (1 John 3:8). He sealed the deal when he unsealed the tomb on Easter Sunday 2,000 years ago.",[19,38,39],{},"On the Winning Side",[19,41,42],{},"There's no doubt how the war will turn out. Yet, the battle continues. Satan is a sore loser who struts around and pounds God's people with sucker punches, like a frustrated boxer who continues to spar with his opponent after the bell has rung to end the round.",[19,44,45],{},"We struggle daily \"against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil\" (Ephesians 6:12). The apostle Paul battled with his own evil desires that waged war against his good intentions and threatened to enslave him (Romans 7:14-24). However, confident he was on the winning side, Paul also wrote, \"We are more than conquerors through him who loved us\" (Romans 8:37).",[19,47,48],{},"Peter warned, \"Abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul\" (1 Peter 2:11). He compared the devil to \"a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.\" But he also affirmed that \"the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast\" (1 Peter 5:8, 10).",[19,50,51],{},"This side of Heaven, we won't escape battles with temptation and skirmishes with sin. \"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ\" (1 Corinthians 15:57). He's already won the war.",{"title":53,"searchDepth":54,"depth":54,"links":55},"",2,[],"First Look","2003-08-17","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fis-this-fight-really-necessary","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":21},"articles\u002Fis-this-fight-really-necessary",[69,70,71],"Biblical Theology","Holy Week and Resurrection","Spiritual Formation","j_zPaoJRwcBLy98tS-UxrYSe2bOLt36y1GsauYUnb1E",[74,79],{"title":75,"path":76,"stem":77,"description":78,"children":-1},"Is the Lord a Home-Wrecker?","\u002Farticles\u002Fis-the-lord-a-home-wrecker","articles\u002Fis-the-lord-a-home-wrecker","I love my kids. Yes, I still call them “kids” even though they’re grown up. My son, daughters, sons-in-law, and granddaughters mean more than I can put into words. They are priceless to me.",{"title":80,"path":81,"stem":82,"description":83,"children":-1},"Is Your House in Order?","\u002Farticles\u002Fis-your-house-in-order","articles\u002Fis-your-house-in-order","When King Hezekiah was ill and close to death, the prophet Isaiah told him, \"This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you will die; you will not recover.\" Badly shaken by this news, Hezekiah prayed and wept bitterly. In a remarkable turnaround, the Lord healed Hezekiah and added 15 years to his life. However, like the rest of us, Hezekiah eventually died and \"rested with his fathers\" (2 Kings 20:1-6, 21)."]